This Privacy Policy tells you how and why we collect, store and process your personal information. It also tells you about your rights concerning this information and how to go about exercising those rights. It has been updated to reflect the changes made to EU data protection laws by ‘GDPR’ (General Data Protection Regulation) which came into force in May 2018. GDPR is a large and complex law but we don’t want this policy to be lengthy and complex. We’ve tried to explain things as simply as possible while still giving you the information you need. If you want further clarification please ask.

We will review and update this policy from time to time and the latest version will be published here.

You and your personal data are very important to us and we promise to take the privacy and security of your data seriously. The principles of how we treat your privacy are:

Transparency
We will be open, honest and clear about how we handle your data. We will try to explain clearly what you need to know without being long-winded or overly complex. We won’t hide anything. If you need to know more, please ask. We will also be open and honest if we make mistakes.

Choice
You are in control of your data. We will always give you the choice of what data you give us and what communication you receive from us.

Trust
We want you to trust us with your data. We will store it securely and only process it in accordance with this policy. We won’t sell it or share it with other organisations. We accept responsibility for the security of your data.Description text goes here

You are trusting Lighthouse with your personal data so let’s be clear about who or what Lighthouse is and what it does.

Lighthouse Counselling currently operates under the registered charity of Eastgate, a church in Northfleet, Kent. We are in the process of applying to become an independent counselling charity called The Lighthouse Counselling Trust.

Our address is:

Eastgate
141 Springhead Parkway
Northfleet
Kent
DA11 8AD

We can be contacted at:
hello@lighthousecounselling.org.uk

We will only ask for your data if we have a good reason to ask and we won’t ask for information we don’t need. We collect this data when you express an interest in having counselling with us and when you are in communication with us about setting up your counselling appointments. We use this information to:

• organise and run the counselling service

• analyse the effectiveness of email communications

• analyse the use of our website

We operate our own servers and make use of several ‘cloud-based’ systems. This is where your data is stored. Our own servers are secure, up to date, and well maintained. Access to our servers and the cloud-based systems we use is granted only to Lighthouse Counselling Trust people and only when there is a need. When that need no longer exists, access is revoked. The cloud-based systems we use are:

• Microsoft Office 365, mainly for email communications

• Cognito Forms, for data entered on website forms

• Stripe for payment processing

• Google, for calendaring and website usage analysis

• CAF Bank, for banking

• CCPAS, for safeguarding services

Your name and contact details, along with financial records linked to any appointments you book will be stored for 6 years. Counsellors also keep brief anonymised notes for each session and these will be stored for 6 years. The other information you provide on your application form (reason for requesting counselling, and any medical information you provide) will be stored for 6 months once counselling is finished and then deleted.

We will not share your data with other organisations or individuals and we certainly will not sell your data to anyone. If we believe you might be interested in something that another organisation or individual has to offer we may tell you about it but we wouldn’t share your information without your permission.

You are in control of your data. We give you the choice over how much or how little data you share with us. You also have certain rights over your personal data that we store.

You have the right to see what data we hold and to know how we use it

You have the right to amend and update your data

You have the right to control or restrict how we process your data

You have the right to stop us using your personal data

You have the right to have your data deleted (the ‘right to be forgotten’)

If you wish to exercise any of these rights all you have to do is ask.

Please be aware that there are some situations where you may not be able to exercise these rights. For example, we cannot delete data we are legally required to store; we cannot reveal, update or delete personal data if you are unable to prove your identity; we cannot meet requests that would impact the rights or privacy of others; and we aren’t required to comply with requests which we genuinely feel are unreasonable or excessive. If we are unable to comply with a request about your data we will always explain why.

We will only contact you in regard to arranging appointments. Once you have finished counselling, we will send you a link asking for feedback on your experience with us. After that, we will not contact you or share your details with anyone else. If you wish to receive news and updates about Lighthouse Counselling, you can join our mailing list here.

We do not track your personal activity on our website. Most websites use cookies to improve your experience and our website does this. Without cookies, some areas of the website wouldn’t work properly.

The payment processing companies we use also use cookies to facilitate transactions made from or through our website. Without them, we would not be able to process payments.

We aim to give you control over what personal data you provide and how it is used. Where possible, we give you access to these controls. For example, if you wish to update your contact details such as your email address or phone number, you can do so by letting your counsellor know or contacting us by email. Giving you access to, and responsibility for, your own data is by far the best way of keeping everything accurate and up to date. So please don’t be offended if we ask you to manage your own data wherever this is possible; it’s in your best interests.

Likewise, if you contact us regarding your personal data we will need to verify your identity before we do anything. Depending on your request, we may simply need to ask you to provide some information over the phone or, in some situations, we may need you to provide certain documents. Again, please don’t be offended; we do this to protect your data.